Rep. Ryan, Gene Sperling Trade Broadsides on Budget

Anyone who thought the White House and House Republicans were close to a deficit-reduction deal only needed to sit through five minutes of the 2011 Fiscal Summit held by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation in Washington.

Those would be the five minutes when House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) wrapped up his wide-ranging remarks and when White House National Economic Council Director Gene Sperlingbegan his talk.

Mr. Ryan concluded by saying, “The White House is not producing a plan that comes anywhere close to fixing this problem” and “You can’t have a neogitation with just yourself.” He also blasted Democrats for using his proposal to overhaul Medicare as a political “weapon” and said it was “inflicting political paralysis.”

Mr. Ryan exited the stage, and Mr. Sperling, a top White House budget negotiator, took the seat. In the first breath, he fired back, taking aim at Mr. Ryan’s refusal to raise revenue through new taxes.